Oil burner air control



Dec. 13, 1938'. c, G, SI LD' 2,140,212

OIL BURNER AIR CONTROL 1 Filed March 15, 1937 Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQ'E 5 Claims.

This invention relates to an oil burner and particularly 'to an air control means for an oil burner.

The modern oil burner of the gun type as generally constructed comprises a somewhat elongated casing having an opening at its rear end. There is a fan in said casing and a motor for driving said fan. Air is drawn in through said opening, which air is blown out at the front of said burner mixed with atomized oil. Such oil burners are usually controlled by a thermostat and the operation thereof-is stopped at intervals. When the burner has been operating the furnace becomes quite hot and when the burner is shut off the heat in the furnace and chimney causes air to pass therethrough, which air comes in through the rear of the burner casing. This passage of air begins as soon as the burner is shut 01f and-assaid air is of low temperature it has a decided cooling efiect on the furnace and chimney. This cooling action lowers the efficiency of the system as the cool air is merely heated to pass up the chimney.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for closing the opening through the oil burner when thesame isnot in'operation.

It is a further object to provide a simple, novel :and 'eflicient structure for controlling the flow of air through the oil burner.

-It is still another object of the invention to provide-a simple and efficient means for closing the rear end of the oil burner casing and regulating the flow of air therethrough.

These and other objects and advantages of 'the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:-

Fig. lis a central vertical section through the rear portion of the oil burner casing showing the fan and motor unit therein in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a View in rear elevation of a cover for the burner casing;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig, l-as indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 as indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, an oil burner is shown comprising a casing ll) of generally cylindrical form having a curved end Illa with a circular opening lllb in its rear end. Said casing 10 is cut away at its upper portions along the vertical line I and horizontal line Hid and "the opening thus formed is closed by a cover is also secured an oil pump l4. shaft-12a of motor I2 is connected to a fan l5 member ll having a flange portion Ila. overlying -casing I 0.

I A motor I2 is mounted in casing It, a bracket or casting l3 being shown to which The armature Whichis driven by motor l2.

A cover member I6 is provided having a curved cylindrical flange I611 adapted to abut and fit against the rear end of casing IE3 at the outer side of opening lilb. Member I6 is held in place against casing H] by a plurality of lugs ll having curved ends engaging the inner side of portion Illa and being secured to cover it by the headed screws l8 passing therethrough and being threaded into member l6. Member i6 has a cylindrical portion i521, both ends of which are open and'the inner end of which is disposed closely adjacent fan 15. The diameter of the opening through portion [6b is substantially the same as the air intake opening of fan l5. Portion I61) has a rib lfic at its inner side extending circumferentially therearound from its top and at either side thereof to a plane somewhat above the central horizontal plane passing therethrough. Said portion also has a similar rib 16d at its inner side passing therearound from the bottom up wardly to a-horizontal plane a short distance below the plane in which the ends of rib I60 are disposed. A plate or disk member I9 is disposed in portion 161), the same extending along and engaging the inner side of rib Kid and the outer side of rib I60. It will be seen that plate I9 thus closes the opening through portion Nib. Plate l9 has small ears or lugs l9a struck up at each side thereof somewhat above the center of the same and a small rod or wire 26 extends through apertures in said lugs and has its ends fixed in the sides of portion lfib. Member 22 is curved upwardly at its central portion as shown in Fig. 3 and is secured firmly to the disk or plate l9 by a headed and nutted bolt 2!, the head of which is disposed inwardly and has between the same andmember 2!! a plurality of washers 22, the outermost washer engaging member 28. The washers 22 actto form a weight which acts to assist plate I9 in swinging to closed position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and also acts as a counterweight when the plate is swung. Member l6 has a circular opening 16a in its rear side and a plate 23 is secured to member l6 by a plurality of headed screws 24, plate 23 being somewhat larger in diameter than opening lfie. Plate '23 has a plurality of vertical openings or slots 23a therethrough including a central-slot or opening 23b. Slot 23b acts as a guideway for a member 25 having a portion movable therein and projecting to the outer side of plate 23. Member 25 is somewhat curved and tapered at its inner side and the same extends inwardly to engage the outer side of plate I9 when the latter is swung to open position. Plate 23 has a pair of vertically spaced lugs 230, through which passes a headed screw 26, the same having a slotted head and having its shank threaded into the projecting portion of member 25. A jamb or locking nut 21 is shown on screw 26 adapted to engage the underside of lug 230.

In operation, when the burner is operating fan I5 will be rapidly rotated and will draw air through the portion I 617 and swing member I9 inwardly as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. With member I9 so swung air can pass thereabout and will be supplied to the burner. The swinging movement of member I9 is limited by the engagement thereof With member 25. Member 25 can be moved upwardly and downwardly by screw 26 so that the extreme open position of member can be variably determined. When the burner is not operating member I9 swings to vertical or closed position and no air can pass through the burner at this time. It will be seen that plate I9 swings against ribs I6d and I6c which thus act as stop members. The members 22 as stated act as a weight tending to return member I 9 to closed position. As plate I9 swings open said weight swings partly across the center of member 26 or the axis of lugs I9a so that it acts as a counterweight tending to balance said plate. When the plate is near closed position said weight acts almost entirely to move said plate to closed position. Cover member l6 can be quickly removed as can also plate 23.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a simple and efficient structure for an oil burner whereby when said burner is stopped in operation the draft through the burner will automatically be shut off. The heat in the furnace and flues will thus be conserved. The structure is quite simple and the parts thereof are quite accessible. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efiicient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:--

1. An oil burner structure comprising a casing having an opening at its rear end, a cover member for said casing having an inwardly extending open-ended cylindrical portion, a fan in said casing, means for driving said fan. to draw air through said cylindrical portion, a disk member swingingly mounted in said cylindrical portion for closing the opening therethrough, said member being adapted to be swung open by operation of said fan, said cover member having a vertically extending opening therethrough, a member adapted to have its inner end engage said disk member to limit opening movement of said disk member and a screw mounted in the outer side of said cover and engaging said last mentioned member to move the same to different positions to variably limit the opening movement of said disk member.

2. An oil burner structure comprising a casing having an opening at its rear end, a cover member for said casing extending about and over said opening, means engaging said member and the inner side of said casing wall to hold said member in place, said member having an inwardly extending open ended cylindrical portion projecting through said opening, a fan in said casing substantially coaxial with said portion, said fan being disposed closely adjacent the inner end of said portion and the opening through said portion being of substantially the same diameter as the intake opening of said fan, means for operating said fan to draw air through said opening, a substantially circular plate disposed in said cylindrical portion extending transversely thereof and adapted to close the opening therethrough, means for swingably mounting said plate about an axis extending transversely thereof at one side of the center thereof, means secured to said plate for causing the same to move to closed position by gravity when said fan is not operating, said plate being swung to open position when said fan is operating, and means carried by said cover at the outer side thereof for variably determining the open movement of said plate.

3. An oil burner structure comprising a casing having an opening at its rear end, a cover member extending about said opening and engaging said end, said cover member having a cylindrical portion with an opening extending therethrough, said portion extending through said first mentioned opening, a fan within said casing disposed closely adjacent the inner end of said cylindrical portion, means for operating said fan to draw air through said cylindrical portion, a substantially circular plate disposed in and extending transversely of said cylindrical portion, a pivot member secured to said plate and extending transversely thereof at oneside of the center thereof and journaled in the sides of said cylindrical portion, means on said plate causing the same to swing to closed position by gravity, said cover having a slot therein, a member extending through said slot adapted to engage said plate to limit the swinging movement thereof and a screw journaled in said cover and engaging said last mentioned member to move the same to different positions for variably determining the opening movement of said plate.

4. An oil burner structure comprising a substantially cylindrical casing having an opening at its rear end, a cover member engaging the outer side of said casing about said opening, means secured to said member and engaging said casing for holding said cover member in place, said member having a substantially cylindrical portion aligned with said opening, a fan in said casing substantially coaxial with said portion and disposed at the inner end thereof, means for operating said fan to draw air through said opening and portion, and a substantially circular plate disposed in said cylindrical portion extending transversely thereof and adapted to close the opening therethrough, means for swingably mounting said plate about a horizontal axis extending transversely thereof and means secured to said plate for causing the same to move to closed position by gravity when said fan is not operating.

5. An oil burner structure comp-rising a casing having an opening at its rear end, a cover member having an opening at its rear end, a cover member for said opening having a cylindrical portion projecting through said opening, a fan within said casing adjacent the inner end of said portion for drawing air through said portion, a substantially circular plate disposed in said cylindrical portion extending transversely thereof and adapted to close the opening therethrough, a small rod extending transversely across said plate above the center thereof, means on said plate for holding said rod in position, the ends of said rod being journalled in opposite sides of said portion, said plate being swingably mounted about the axis of said end portions of said rod and means on said plate for causing the same to move to vertical closing position by gravity.

CHARLES G. SIGWALD. 

